A Lovely Surprise and a Hidden Gem

Posted by Stephanie July 20, 2026

A Lovely Surprise and a Hidden Gem

Josie and Caleb were not supposed to visit for Brendan's mission homecoming.

They had been waiting in Springville for Caleb's orders to move to Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas- hoping that it wouldn't be until after Brendan came home on Tuesday, July 14th. But, then they did.

And their report date was the very Friday of that must anticipated week. The movers would surely need to come just before Caleb and Josie drove their care to Texas. We had spoken on the phone about it.

So, imagine my surprise when I came home from working at the library the Thursday before and they jumped out from the pantry to say hello!

They had plotted with Jacob to come out after all. The arrangements with the movers were adjusted to come early. And although they would only have about 24 hours with Brendan before they had to fly back to Utah and make their trek east, they were able to steal a few days to spend with the rest of the family! What a wonderful surprise!

Riley was absolutely thrilled to have them there, and he and Caleb immediately took to playing games together.

We decided to surprise Traegen and Brie, as well, so we arranged to meet up at Coeur d'Alene Lake beach. We set up our beach tent so that we could get some shade from the sun...and so that Josie and Caleb could hide and jump out. Traegen was wise to them, but Brie was surprised. We had a lovely afternoon picnic and visited while Revan enjoyed digging in the sand.

This morning, Josie and I went to go check out a new Green Bluff farm that my physical therapist had told me about - Hidden Acres. It was so quaint, had a really cool playground, goats to pet, a country store, and cherries to pick. So, we pet some adorable baby goats and picked some cherries to take home.

Afterwards, Josie, Caleb, and Riley got to work on their posters for Brendan's homecoming. I think he will like them! Can't wait for tomorrow!